Two months after Cody Simpson and Gigi Hadid ended their picture-perfect relationship, the surfer crooner is revealing why breaking up was the best option for him.

In a new interview with DuJour, the 18-year-old admitted he still has love for his former flame, but says their high-profile relationship was taking a toll on him, mentally and creatively.

“I love my ex-girlfriend, I always will,” Cody said. “It was an amicable, mutual decision, and we still talk every now and then, but the highly publicized thing made me uncomfortable. Going out to dinner and there being all this paparazzi and stuff…. as soon as we split I had the realization that I was straying away from who I was as a whole person. I want to keep it low key, and focus on my music.”

Part of maintaining that low-key lifestyle Cody wants is surrounding himself with a close circle of friends. He said Justin Bieber is “definitely a mate,” but they don’t see each other very often. Rather, Cody says most of his close friends are surfers, not other celeb pals.

“You know, as far as public perception goes, if you get seen with some people one time, everyone thinks you’re in that group,” Cody said. “But when it comes to hanging out with friends on a daily basis I never really see those people. I went through a phase where I was pretty good friends with Selena, and then it just got kind of weird, because I just try to be nice to everyone.  Anyway, I don’t necessarily see those people very often.”

While Gigi has seemingly moved on with rumored beau Joe Jonas, Cody is staying focused on his music. The Aussie released his album Free earlier this month, marking a possible turning point of self-discovery in his career.

“I think Free captured a moment in my life where I was finding myself,” he says. “There’s a lot of content on there about breaking free and just developing your own philosophies, and ideologies, or world views or whatever. That’s what I’m doing now.”